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Topic Review (Newest First)

09-16-2013 09:09 AM

DaeHanL

can anyone upload a picture of the FORD part (insulation shield) on their car for comparison? I plan on opening mine up, and if i'm missing one asking for it to be ordered and installed, considering i'm desperate and my local dealership has written me off.

09-15-2013 10:46 AM

focusstu

I believe it is, but I could be dreaming. Since the weather is different every day, it will take a while until I know for sure. I think it was worth $18 and an hour of work. Also, I think the factory insulator will fit on top of it if someone finds that it works better.

1. I bought a 12 x 24 sheet of Thermo Tec Adhesive Backed Aluminized Heat Barrier, p/n 13575 from Amazon for $18. You can also get it at Autozone and ebay. It has very good reviews on Amazon except for a few people who say the adhesive doesn't work very well. 12 x 24 is enough for everything I could reach on the cowl, with 8 x 5 left over.

2. I removed the rubber gasket at the front of the cowl to get better access. It just pulls off. I also removed the battery cover, although I put back the front half of the cover to avoid any sparks with the aluminized heat barrier.

3. I wiped off the bottom of the cowl and then washed it off with rubbing alcohol in an effort to get the best possible adhesion.

4. The bottom of the cowl is an irregular surface with the ends of 4 plastic fasteners and a few tabs sticking out. I cut pieces of Thermo Tec to fit. The Thermo Tec is a silica mesh with aluminzed stuff on top. It is pretty thin. The cowl generally from 5"-6" deep. The largest piece I cut was about 10" x 6." I cut a lot of small pieces near the ends.

5. The Thermo Tec is pretty sticky. I started from the back edge of the cowl, where it meets the strut tower brace. I cut slits in the Thermo Tec to get it to fit better to compound curves. It stretches a little.

6. I then used a roller like you use on wallpaper seams to press the edges and to get rid of a air bubbles.

7. I reinstalled the rubber gasket. It needs to be pressed firmly to get its "barbs" securely in the cowl. Then I reinstalled the battery cover.

8. If you use Thermo Tec on the bottom of the strut tower brace, note that there are a couple of holes in it.

Total time about 1 hour. The key is whether the adhesive on the Thermo Tec will hold tight. It seems fine after about an hour of driving. It is supposed to be good to 300 F.

09-15-2013 10:05 AM

focusstu

Quote:

Originally Posted by focusstu

I checked a Titanium cowl again. The insulator is under just the plastic cowl extension. It looks like it attaches to the fasteners that are already on the cowl. I have decided to try Thermo Tec adhesive heat shield instead. It looks like it will work just as well and cost just $18 from Amazon. I will provide my results when I get it installed.

I installed the Thermo Tec yesterday and did some driving yesterday and today. I think it is a definite improvement but not a complete cure. I will describe the results in this post and show pictures and what I did in a separate post. Let me point out that I have no problems with the a/c. My problem is when the a/c is not on.

I took the car out this morning. It was about 63 degrees F outside. I drove about 30 miles on country roads. The air out of the vents was comfortable the whole way. I then stopped the car for about 10 minutes. When I checked the inside of the cowl, the plastic was cool to the touch. When I started driving again it was about 70 outside. The air out of the vents was quite warm, but cooled off to comfortable (but not nearly as cool as outside) within about 10 minutes of driving. When I got home I checked the inside of the cowl again and it was slightly warm to the touch. I checked again after 15 minutes and the inside of the cowl was very warm, but not as hot as I remember without the Thermo Tec.

When the car is run from cold, it seems like the outside air can keep the cowl cool. When the car sits after running, there is heat soak. Driving for a few miles seems to cool things off. I think that running the a/c for 10 minutes or so after a hot start may help. I don't know if this is any better or worse than the factory heat shield.

The top of the strut tower brace is part of the cowl ductwork. Most of it is hollow with about 3/4" of air space, so I think it should be a pretty good insulator. I may use the rest of my Thermo Tec on the bottom of the strut tower brace.

09-10-2013 12:36 PM

jcw122

My AC has been performing better since I got my car, so I'm gonna hold off on talking to my dealer.

focusstu Interested to see how the heat shield helps.

09-10-2013 11:06 AM

DaeHanL

Quote:

Originally Posted by focusstu

I got a call from my dealer a few days ago. They told me to bring the car in to check the blend door. They said that if the blend door was ok Ford would give me a 5-yr, 75,000 mile, $100 deductible PremiumCare plan for my trouble. I brought the car in and the blend door was working fine. The service manager told me that if I agreed, Ford would mail the service contract to me. When I asked if they said anything about the problem, she said that they do not give any reasons. There was no paperwork for the dealer visit. It seems to me that they are settling out of court without admitting guilt.

I checked a Titanium cowl again. The insulator is under just the plastic cowl extension. It looks like it attaches to the fasteners that are already on the cowl. I have decided to try Thermo Tec adhesive heat shield instead. It looks like it will work just as well and cost just $18 from Amazon. I will provide my results when I get it installed.

thanks for the update. best of luck, I know how much this sucks... If the heat shield works, please post some pics and results. Fingers crossed!

09-10-2013 10:23 AM

focusstu

Quote:

Originally Posted by focusstu

I took my car to the dealer today. They looked up the part number for the insulator. The part is not on my car's bill of materials. They seemed to agree that I had a legitimate complaint. The service manager said that the problem is hot fresh air. They are not sure what Ford will let them do. They did contact the Ford Hotline, and Crystal on FF is trying to help.

I am posting the part number, but with a number of caveats:
1) I am not positive that the part number they gave me is correct. It is very hard to tell from a line drawing whether they have found the right part.
2) I am not positive that the cowls for the standard heater and the dual temp control heater are identical, so I am not positive that the insulator will fit exactly.
3) There is a good chance that the cowl will have to be removed to install the insulator. It also appears to have cutouts for the master cylinder and who knows what else.

The part number is AV6Z-9901588-A, instrument panel insulator. It lists for $74.32 and is $49.05 at Tousley. On their diagram of the cowl, the insulator is listed as part number 15.

I will let you all know when Ford or the dealer get back to me.

I got a call from my dealer a few days ago. They told me to bring the car in to check the blend door. They said that if the blend door was ok Ford would give me a 5-yr, 75,000 mile, $100 deductible PremiumCare plan for my trouble. I brought the car in and the blend door was working fine. The service manager told me that if I agreed, Ford would mail the service contract to me. When I asked if they said anything about the problem, she said that they do not give any reasons. There was no paperwork for the dealer visit. It seems to me that they are settling out of court without admitting guilt.

I checked a Titanium cowl again. The insulator is under just the plastic cowl extension. It looks like it attaches to the fasteners that are already on the cowl. I have decided to try Thermo Tec adhesive heat shield instead. It looks like it will work just as well and cost just $18 from Amazon. I will provide my results when I get it installed.

09-03-2013 03:04 PM

FordService

Quote:

Originally Posted by Focus-bb

Same issue here...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcw122

I'm going to take a look at my 2014 SE and see if that foam insulator is there. If not I'll also be taking it to the dealership...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaeHanL

took my car in today. I hope they fix it this time...

Hi everyone,

I want to look into this for you to see how I can best assist. To get started, send me a PM with your full name, phone number, VIN, mileage, and preferred servicing dealership.

Thanks!

Crystal

09-03-2013 08:36 AM

DaeHanL

took my car in today. I hope they fix it this time... they told me they would do a dye test, I told them to look at the control head/ bc of the constant hot air being let into the cabin. It didn't seem they took notes, guessing it's annoying when customers think they know something!

fingers crossed guys! I was hoping to get in the shop last week, as it was still hot out, compared to today's high of 74ºF - Last time they checked my a/c at 7:15AM in the spring, and they wrote "blows cold air" and sent me home... of course it blew cold air, it was in the 50ºs...